Dharius Daniels - Are You Managing the SEASON You're in?

Past, it doesn’t mean over it, but you stuffed it. God, if you are my protector and defender, why did you let them treat me like that? You didn’t protect me. Last but not least, family represents times of seasonal supply. See, this wasn’t the only kind of bread they were going to have forever; it was just the kind of bread they had in the wilderness. If you don’t understand it’s a seasonal supply, you’ll have anxiety about something that’s only temporary. Calm down and relax; it’s just Manna. I hate this job. It’s just Manna. I don’t like where I am; it’s just Manna. I don’t like being in this place; it’s just Manna. It’s a seasonal supply, and there’s a scripture in the Bible with this statement: «And the Manna ceased.» He says you don’t need this anymore. You don’t need something now that tastes like honey because now you’re in the land that flows with milk and honey. You don’t need something that tastes like it anymore because I’ve brought you into a season where you no longer have to have a taste of it. I’m giving you the real thing. Calm down; that’s just Manna. Here’s your confession: my time is up. Here’s your confession, and I want you to say it out loud: I will not overreact in my Manna season. Calm down and relax, because how we manage these seasons determines whether or not it’s a stage or a state. How we manage these seasons determines whether or not it is a season or a cycle. How we manage this season determines whether I’m in the wilderness for 11 days, because that’s how long it took to get from the wilderness to Canaan, or whether I’m in the wilderness for 40 years. I’m going to have Wilderness experiences; I don’t have to have Wilderness wandering. I’ve got to manage these by not overreacting, so I’ve got to guard against impatience because that impatience causes me to suffer emotionally. Impatience is self-inflicted emotional suffering. It’s a feeling of restlessness and frustration associated with having to wait for something you don’t want to wait for. It is a toll; it is a lack of tolerance for delays, slow progress, and hindrances. It stems from a belief that time is being wasted, so now there’s anxiety because I’m getting older, and I’m assuming that what God is going to do with me is age-dependent. God’s like, I don’t waste anything; nothing is wasted. I’m never late; I’ll do it when I get ready, and when I get ready to do it, no matter how old you are, I will quicken your mortal body. When I get ready to do it, I’ll have you like Caleb who, in a later season of his life, said, «But I’m stronger now than I’ve ever been.» You’ve got to guard against that, but not only impatience, which is how you feel; you’ve got to guard against impulsiveness that causes you to act unwisely. Proverbs says he who acts impulsively exalts folly and increases the likelihood of foolishness and acting unwisely. When I’m impulsive, see, impatience speaks to how I feel; impulsiveness speaks to how I act. It’s a tendency to act quickly without careful thought, prayer, or consideration of consequences. Listen, when you get better spiritually, everything gets better. Spiritual life is not the only important part of your life; it is the most important part because it affects every other part that’s important. You don’t get stronger spiritually accidentally; it takes intentionality. You need to be fed, and you’ve got to learn how to understand, interpret, apply, and explain the Bible. The Bible is the blueprint to your best life, and I’m going to tell you that Sunday is not enough to give you the tools you need to get better with the Bible. I want you to join me in my community called Bible U, where I help you take your understanding, application, and explanation of the Bible to another level. It’s God saying, I know you told me you’re going to give us Isaac, but Sarah and I are getting too old, so now I’m going to act impulsively and create Ishmael instead of waiting on a blessing; I’ll make one now. The grace of God is so amazing that Ishmael doesn’t cancel Isaac; it just makes your life much more complicated on the way to Isaac. Number three: Holy Spirit, help us. Holy Spirit, show us right here; give us the grace to be open. We need to guard against offense that causes us to perceive things improperly. Offense is a feeling of resentment brought about by a feeling of disregard for my well-being. Most of our conversations about offense are limited to offenses with people because we’re scared to admit we’ve been offended by God. Holy Spirit, help us to admit that sometimes you feel, «God, I love you and trust you. I love you and trust you, but I do not understand why you took my loved one that way,» and I’m feeling some kind of way about it. I can tell a lot about your theology, your beliefs about God based on your prayer life. If you read the Psalms, you see David saying things none of us would ever feel comfortable saying to God, like, «May his children be fatherless and his wife a widow,» because the way you talk to God says a lot about God’s ability to manage your authenticity. So what you keep presenting to Him is your religious representative, and He doesn’t talk to representatives. Some of you right now, I feel this; we’ve got to go. Some of you right now need to get it right with God.